Having grown up in a home closely tied to BJU Press, I was surrounded at an early age by JourneyForth books. Jerri Massi’s Derwood, Inc. series was a big hit among us kids growing up (and now among my own kids today), as were some of the missionary books like These Are My People and A Question of Yams.

But if you had asked me last month to name my favorite BJUP book from childhood, I’d have said Dawn L. Watkins’ Medallion. I could recall the cover and how the…”fantasy” made me feel, putting me in a different world and stretching my imagination, at least a touch. I say “if you had asked me last month” because now that I’ve read it again to my kids, I have to admit that I didn’t actually recall anything from this book besides the cover and that it had tinges of fantasy!

The story follows Trave, an orphaned prince whose unworthy “fat uncle” has taken over Trave’s own rightful place on the throne of Gadalla. Gadalla is one of seven nations that make up “Kapnos and the Under Countries” in this fanciful world (with a strong medieval feel), and among those nations are some that have turned evil and are beginning to form a “dark alliance” to destroy the rest. When another king offers to help Trave reclaim the throne, if only he can find his father’s Medallion and therefore prove himself worthy to rule, Trave sets out on a journey of danger, doubt, and growth that makes the reader wonder how everything might turn out in the end.

I’ll have to admit that this book was more fanciful than I remembered or expected. My kids especially liked the fantastic creatures like the grelds (giant lizards used for transportation) and skreels (giant, deadly birds), and they kinda-sorta liked the Old Bogger who spoke in rhyme. My son especially like the fighting and arrows in the neck, and my daighter the swordfighting. Enna was the most surprising to me, because she was a healer woman who lived in rainbow-glass cave and had the power to heal, with no further explanation than that. Very unexpected, given the publisher.

I’ve got three minor critiques of the book. First, the reader definitely needs to view the map at the beginning of the book in order to get a sense of the many locations of action in the story, which was a bit hard when reading it aloud to my 10- and 11-year-old kids. Second, each nation has its own language, which seems to be an irrelevant and sometimes confusing addition to the story that probably should have been left out. And third, my daughter had a hard time following the story as I read, especially the portions that described the 7 nations and the various kings vying for Trave’s allegiance.

The book has some things to teach, specifically about one’s search for truth. I hope it’s not a spoiler to quote what’s written on the medallion, which King Gris calls the three rules of a king:

To learn what it true
To believe the truth
To act on that belief (183)

Teachers and parents can use these three steps to introduce discussions of “What is truth?” and “How can truth affect how we live?” These are certainly important themes and ones that can help pave the way for deeper, more spiritual talks.

I enjoyed returning to this book after (probably) three decades or more. I’m surprised at how little I remembered but enjoyed the fact that it was like reading it anew. It makes me sort of long to read another favorite book of mine from childhood, The Bronze Bow (1961) by Elizabeth George Speare. Maybe later this year.

©2022 E.T.

Read More from JourneyForth Press:

• With Wings as Eagles by William Pinkston (1983)
• These Are My People by Mildred T. Howard (1984)
• Medallion by Dawn L. Watkins (1985)
• Derwood, Inc. by Jerri Massi (1986)
• A Dangerous Game by Jerri Massi (1986)
• Treasure in the Yukon by Jerri Massi (1986)
• With Daring Faith by Rebecca Henry Davis (1987)
• Courage by Darkness by Jerri Massi (1987)
• Some Summer! by Jean Vandervenne (1987)
• Llamas on the Loose by Jerri Massi (1988)
• The Runaway Princess by Milly Howard (1988)
• Abandoned by Jerri Massi (1989)
• A Question of Yams by Gloria Repp (1992)
• Brill of Exitorn by Peggy Downing (1994)
• Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World by Deb Brammer (1994)
• The Lost Prince by Peggy Downing (1995)
• Tales from Dust River Gulch by Tim Davis (1996)
• Camp Sierra Secret by Esther G. Wilkinson (1996)
• Chickadee Winter by Dawn L. Watkins (1999)
• Songbird by Nancy Lohr (2000)
• Nix by Penny McKnight (2006)
• Shield by Dawn Watkins (2008)